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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Domhnall Jennings
In four experiments rats were conditioned to an auditory conditioned stimulus (CS) that was paired with food, and learning about the CS was compared across two conditions in which the mean duration of the CS was equated. In one the CS was of a single, fixed duration on every trial, while in the other the CS duration was drawn from an exponential distribution, and hence changed from trial to trial. Higher rates of conditioned responding to the fixed than to the variable stimulus were observed, in both between- (Experiment 1) and within-subject designs (Experiments 2 and 3). Moreover, this difference was maintained when stimuli trained with fixed or variable durations were tested under identical conditions (i.e. with equal numbers of fixed and variable duration trials) - suggesting that the difference could not be attributed to performance effects (Experiment 3). In order to estimate the speed of acquisition of conditioned responding, the scaled cumulative distribution of a Weibull function was fitted to the trial-by-trial response rates for each rat. In the within-subject experiments specific differences in the pattern of acquisition to fixed and variable CS were shown; a somewhat different pattern was found when ITI was manipulated (Experiment 4). The implications of these findings for theories of conditioning and timing are discussed. Normal 0 false false false EN-GB JA X-NONE
Author(s): Jennings DJ, Alonso E, Mondragon E, Franssen M, Bonardi C
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes
Year: 2013
Volume: 39
Issue: 3
Pages: 233-248
Print publication date: 01/07/2013
Date deposited: 04/02/2013
ISSN (print): 0097-7403
ISSN (electronic): 1939-2184
Publisher: American Psychological Association
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0032151
DOI: 10.1037/a0032151
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